You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter
552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 126730.

The Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (the "commission") received requests for
information concerning several current and former employees' employment. Although you
state that you will release some of the requested information, you claim that the remaining
information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.103, 552.107, and 552.111 of the
Government Code.

Pursuant to section 552.301(b), a governmental body is required to submit to this office
(1) general written comments stating the reasons why the stated exceptions apply that would
allow the information to be withheld, (2) a copy of the written request for information, and
(3) a copy of the specific information requested or representative samples, labeled to indicate
which exceptions apply to which parts of the documents. You did not, however, submit to
this office copies or representative samples of the specific information that was requested.

Pursuant to section 552.303(c) of the Government Code, this office notified you by facsimile
letter dated June 10, 1999, that you had failed to submit the information required by section
552.301(b). We requested that you provide this information to our office within seven
days from the date of receiving the notice. The notice further stated that, under section
552.303(e), failure to comply would result in the legal presumption that the information at
issue was presumed public.

You eventually provided our office with the information that was requested on July 14, 1999,
after the deadline for submission had passed. Consequently, we find that you have not met
your burden under sections 552.301 through 552.303 of the act, and that the information is
presumed to be public. Open Records Decision No. 195 (1978). However, the presumption
of openness may be overcome by a compelling demonstration that the information is deemed
confidential by some other source of law or that third-party interests are at stake. Open
Records Decision No. 150 (1977). Except for the information discussed below, you must
release the information to the requestor.

Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by
law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." This section encompasses
information protected by other statutes. The Medical Practice Act (the "MPA"), V.T.C.S.
article 4495b, section 5.08(b) provides:

(b) Records of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a
patient by a physician that are created or maintained by a physician are
confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided in this
section.

(c) Any person who receives information from confidential
communications or records as described in this section other than the persons
listed in Subsection (h) of this section who are acting on the patient's behalf
may not disclose the information except to the extent that disclosure is
consistent with the authorized purposes for which the information was first
obtained.

Section 5.08(j)(3) requires that any subsequent release of medical records be consistent with
the purposes for which a governmental body obtained the records. Open Records Decision
No. 565 at 7 (1990). Thus, access to the medical records at issue is not governed by chapter
552 of the Government Code, but rather provisions of the MPA. Open Records Decision
No. 598 (1991). Information that is subject to the MPA includes both medical records and
information obtained from those medical records. See V.T.C.S. art. 4495b, §§ 5.08(a), (b),
(c), (j); Open Records Decision No. 598 (1991). The commission must release medical
information only in accordance with the MPA. Open Records Decision Nos. 598 (1991), 546
(1990); see V.T.C.S. art. 4495b, §§ 5.08 (c), (j), (k). We have marked the documents
accordingly.

Section 552.130 excepts information that relates to a motor vehicle operator's or driver's
license or permit issued by an agency of this state. We have marked the drivers' license
numbers that you must withhold under section 552.130.

Lastly, the documents include employment applications and resumes that contain information
that may be excepted from public disclosure under section 552.117. Section 552.117 of the
Government Code excepts from required public disclosure the home addresses, telephone
numbers, social security numbers, or information revealing whether a public employee has
family members when the public employee requests that this information be kept confidential
under section 552.024. Therefore, section 552.117 requires you to withhold this information
of a current or former employee or official who requested that this information be kept
confidential under section 552.024. See Open Records Decision Nos. 622 (1994), 455
(1987).(1) You may not, however, withhold the information of a current or former employee
who made the request for confidentiality under section 552.024 after this request for
information was made. Whether a particular piece of information is public must be
determined at the time the request for it is made. Open Records Decision No. 530 at 5
(1989). We note that section 552.117 applies to a current or former employee of the
commission. Thus, if the applicants are not current or former employees, then section
552.117 does not apply to the applicants' information. Open Records Decision No. 455
(1987).

We are resolving this matter with an informal letter ruling rather than with a published open
records decision. This ruling is limited to the particular records at issue under the facts
presented to us in this request and should not be relied on as a previous determination
regarding any other records. If you have any questions regarding this ruling, please contact
our office.